Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has led New England to a 10-3 record, including several comeback victories, despite numerous key injuries, the latest a season-ending knee injury suffered by star tight end Rob Gronkowski. / David Butler II, USA TODAY Sports

by Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY Sports

by Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY Sports

A man showed up at I.T. the other day for computer support and a spirited bit of dialogue broke out about the Road to the Frigid Super Bowl.

This tends to happen a lot. At the health club, the cleaners, the community clubhouse, Starbucks.

NFL debate is coming soon, to a theater near you.

As the new laptop was prepped, the tech department supervisor, in an urgent tone, indicated that he had something to tell me that I needed to know.

Wonderful. My mind was expecting some insight about features on the hard drive.

Silly me. This was about football: The Patriots don't have a chance without Rob Gronkowski, I was told.

There you have it, Bill Belichick. The fan on the street, counting your team out.

This is not the year for that.

New England has indeed lost its monster, all-pro tight end, Gronkowski, for the rest of the season with a torn ACL and torn MCL in his right knee. Following his setbacks after multiple surgeries this year for a re-fractured forearm and another mishap with his back, Gronkowski has had such bad luck on the medical front you might wonder if he's injury prone.

Then again, he plays a violent, physical sport in which people get hurt. And the Patriots know all about that, with Gronkowski joining all-pro nose tackle Vince Wilfork, who is the team's best defensive player, and Pro Bowl linebacker Jerod Mayo on the gone-for-the-season injury list.

Despite the injury woes, the Patriots (10-3) keep winning.

When New England plays on Sunday at Miami â?? a place where Belichick once became so struck by joy after winning an AFC East title a few years ago that he celebrated by tossing his play-calling sheet in the air when the game ended â?? it can become the first franchise since the 1970 merger to claim 10 division titles in 11 seasons.

The trek this season, though, has been so unusual because of the mojo the Patriots have shown in several never-say-die comebacks.

Sunday, they trailed the Browns 26-14 with under two minutes to play and won.

Before that, a comeback at Houston. And remember, they beat Denver after falling behind 24-zip.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, the Pats are the fifth team in NFL history to win three consecutive games in which they trailed by double digits in the second half.

Earlier this season, they stung the Saints with a last-minute comeback, authored by Tom Brady. And when they beat the Dolphins a few weeks ago, they spotted Miami a 17-0 lead.

Those deficits don't say much for the consistency that defines strong contenders, but with so many teams in the NFL â?? even the top ones â?? striving for consistency from week to week, the resilience the Patriots have shown this season might trump that.

"They haven't ever made any excuses or tried to back down from the challenge," Belichick said this week of his team's fortitude.

It starts at the top. Comeback victories are often a matter of minimizing mistakes near the end of games, a credit to the emphasis on situational football hammered home by Belichick. I've long considered Belichick the NFL's most resourceful coach, given his ability to adapt and use personnel accordingly.

This ranks among his most challenging seasons with the Patriots, given the injuries and inconsistencies. That's saying a lot considering he won 11 games in 2008 with Matt Cassel at quarterback for the bulk of the year after Brady suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 1, and won his first Super Bowl in the 2001 season after an unproven Brady replaced injured Drew Bledsoe.

This season just got a lot harder without Gronkowski â?? whose stats (42 touchdowns in less than four seasons) only begin to underscore his impact in the passing game. Matchup headaches such as Gronkowski â?? whose presence in the middle of the field often ensured single-man matchups for the receivers on the outside â?? are not replaced. So the Patriots must adjust. Again.

Remember, Gronkowski missed the first six games and the Patriots were 5-1 without him.

"It's disappointing to lose anybody, but we've faced that before this year at different times," Brady said. "So at least we're adjusted to it a little bit."

The offensive production, though, has spiked since Gronkowski's return. But it wasn't just him. Receiver Danny Amendola and running back Shane Vereen came back, too.

The key now is to use the weapons at hand, which the versatile Patriots have done better than the rest for years.

As Brady put it, "If you're an eligible receiver, then you've got to do something with it."

The top two tight ends now are Michael Hoomanawanui (10 receptions this season) and Matthew Mulligan (two catches). Last weekend, Vereen, who has blossomed as a pass-catching threat, was targeted a game-high 17 times and picked up the slack with 12 catches for 153 yards.

Amendola, Julian Edelman and the rookie receivers, including Aaron Dobson and Josh Boyce, will get their chances.

"We're going to try to find a way," Brady said. "Nobody's going to quit around here."

Which is one more reason to not quite count them out.

Follow @JarrettBell on Twitter for in-depth analysis, commentary and breaking news on the NFL.